It is generally well known, prior to the present invention, that cargo shipping containers have been both supported on and connected to generally flat bottom-type transportation vehicles. Such vehicles have included railway-type flat cars, flat bed trucks as well as other lading-type transport vehicles such as ocean going vessels. In general, the equipment that has normally been used in this application as supporting members for such shipping containers consisted of pedestal supports which are manually adjustable along the length of the deck portion of the particular transport vehicle being used. The manual adjustment required normally will depend upon the overall length of the shipping container to be supported.
However, because the locking mechanisms that had been used in securing these shipping containers to such support pedestals have been supplied by different manufacturers, such support pedestals will not work with each style locking mechanism that is presently available for use in this particular application in the transportation industry. Even though these pedestals normally support the cargo shipping containers adjacent each corner, there are specific operating conditions which can be encountered of which additional support is required or at least desirable. Consequently, such support pedestals have also been used to support these shipping containers intermediate the ends thereof in addition to supporting them at their corners. As is generally well recognized in the art, such cargo shipping containers can be of various lengths and shapes. For example, if these cargo shipping containers are to be used at sea, then they may require a special shape. Additionally, the flat bottom-type vehicles used for transporting such shipping containers over land have, in most cases, been adapted to carry more than the one such shipping container. Such shipping containers may be stacked, for example, two high on these vehicles in certain instances. This is particularly the case when such shipping containers are transported on railway-type equipment. In fact, in the railway industry, rail cars have been specifically designed for use in this particular application. There is a pedestal-type cargo shipping container locking device and support mechanism taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,032, for example. Another example of the equipment used in this application is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,701 and still yet another example is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,672.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,032 teaches a cargo shipping container retaining apparatus that is specifically designed for a transporting vehicle having a flat deck. This particular retaining apparatus requires that the cargo shipping container have a corner fitting disposed on at least each of the four corners thereof. Furthermore, it is necessary for these corner fittings to be in substantially the same horizontal plane. As illustrated in this reference, such corner fittings must include a slot-like portion which receives therein a latch lever. Such latch lever is used for locking the shipping container to the deck portion of the transport vehicle. In order to releasably support each corner of the cargo shipping container, a separate support pedestal is provided. This support pedestal includes a frame member having a base portion, a platform portion spaced above such base portion and end and side wall portions which extend vertically of such platform portion and conform to a corner fitting as the shipping container is lowered onto the platform portion. In this arrangement, at least one of the side wall portions includes a slot-like portion formed therein. This slot-like portion extends in a vertical direction along such at least one side wall portion. The latch lever extends along the slot-like portion between parallel walls which form such slot-like portion. Further provided in this retaining apparatus, is a variable pivot for the latch lever. Such variable pivot enables pivoting the latch lever between the parallel walls of such slot-like portion. The latch lever, in this manner, can move into the slot-like portion and into latching engagement with an associated corner fitting disposed on the cargo shipping container. The latch lever includes an inwardly extending upper end portion, and the upper end portion includes an upwardly facing strike surface. The lower end portion of such latch lever is designed to extend a substantial distance beneath the platform. This particular apparatus also includes a compression spring that engages the lower end portion of such latching lever. This compression spring is provided to bias the latching lever to engage the strike surface with a corner fitting as such cargo shipping container is being lowered onto the platform. The compression spring includes a moveable seat member disposed adjacent the lower end of the latching lever and a saddle member disposed on the end that is opposite the moveable seat member. This saddle member is adjacent the lower end portion of the latch lever. In addition, a stationary seat member is provided at the outermost end of the compression spring. The saddle member is positioned for bearing engagement with the lower end portion of the latching lever. The moveable seat member for the compression spring includes a leg portion which extends along such compression spring for at least a portion of the length thereof and a lock bar member engageable with such leg portion. This lock bar member reacts against the moveable seat member and an adjacent wall defining a slot. In this manner, compression of the spring is prevented and thereby securely locking the latching lever from being accidentally moved to an undesired release position during service.
Taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,701 is another fastener device used for engagement with a corner casting of a cargo shipping container to thereby secure such shipping container to a flat support of a transport vehicle. As taught therein, this corner casting is hollow and includes a planar surface abutting and parallel to such flat support of the transport vehicle. This fastener device includes a hook member which is adapted to penetrate an aperture defined through such planar surface and a pivot means for coupling such hook member to the flat support on the transport vehicle. This pivot means is positioned for movement parallel to the planar surface relative to the flat support. This arrangement enables movement of the hook member from a first position located outside the corner casting disposed on such cargo shipping container to a second position of penetration of such corner casting. In other words, from a non-secured position into a secured position so that locking a wall of the corner casting between the hook member and the flat support is achieved. Furthermore, this pivot means maintains a constant spacial interval from a pivot point to the planar surface during all positions of penetration of the hook member into such aperture. As a result, during operation, such moveable pivot means allows the point of attack of such hook member penetrating into the aperture to be varied in a manner to best match the position and orientation of the aperture. Such penetration of the aperture by the hook member is achieved without towards and away movement of the pivot point from such planar surface.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,672 teaches a wide body-type cargo shipping container that is attached for engagement with certain wide body shipping container support mechanisms disposed on various types of transport vehicles. This is accomplished through the provision of a plurality of adapters that are moveably mounted with respect to supporting points disposed on the bottom portion of the wide body shipping containers. Each of these adapters is moveable to a position beneath the wide body shipping container supporting point and is engageable therewith in a manner which defines a new supporting structure. Such new supporting structure being spaced laterally inward from the outermost surface of such wide body shipping container so as to permit coupling of such shipping container to a standard width container support mechanism.